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New Faces, New Fight: Ole Miss basketball’s SEC road revealed for 2025-26

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett06/18/25SpiritBen
NCAA Basketball: Texas at Mississippi
Jan 29, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard talks with Mississippi Rebels forward Malik Dia (0) during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ole Miss basketball on Wednesday learned its home and away opponents for all its SEC games for the 2025-26 season. 

Dates, times and broadcast designations will be revealed at a later date. Ole Miss plays three teams twice: Auburn, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. 

The Rebels are currently in their second week of summer practices. They won 24 games last season and matched the program’s greatest-ever single-season accomplishment by reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

“We’re just fighting time,” third-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said. “You just want to have a team meeting and a team exercise to just kind of max the 24 hours every day. But it’s the summertime. A big part of summer is balance. We all know what’s coming when the grind starts, so it’s kind of a fine line. We want to work really hard during the summer, but we also want to encourage these guys to have some fun.

“Balance is a big part of our process, whether these players are in a relationship or a couple of these guys have dogs, which is a huge commitment. All these guys have a passion off the court. So, that’s kind of a fine line in the summer. We want to work extremely hard, but there’s a great value and just a natural off-day, too, where these guys can kind of just on their own terms spend time with each other.”

RELATED: Tom Brady, Dogs and Diverse Lunch Tables: Beard says summer is about balance and team-building

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Missouri and South Carolina are all coming to Oxford this season.

Additional road trips include Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M. The SEC produced a record 14 NCAA Tournament teams a year ago. The conference was responsible for half of the Elite Eight, as well as the eventual national champion in Florida.

Just three players return for Ole Miss. The Rebels filled out the rest of their roster with three Top 100 recruits, seven transfers and former Eurobasket MVP Ilias Kamardine.

Kamardine, who’s finally reported to campus, was the last arrival. 

“I give those four returning players a lot of credit,” Beard said. He was also referencing veteran walk-on Max Smith. “They’ve tried to help their teammates get comfortable in Oxford. The new guys have come in here with a lot of courage. This is not a team where a transfer can just come in and kind of fit in. This is a team where literally (Malik) Dia and (Eduardo) Klafke played minutes last year. Other than that, everybody’s new. 

“The first week felt good. We had a lot of energy around the program. I think we got better in our three team practices. We’ve got some guys already making some strides in the weight room, trying to take some weight off. A few guys trying to put some weight on. A few guys academically off to a good start. 

“Just trying to get as much done as we can every day. But, again, also letting the guys enjoy Oxford. This is a great college town. It’s summertime. We all know what’s ahead here in a few months. It’s a fine line, for sure.”

The Ole Miss women learned their SEC opponents, too.

Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, in her eighth season, and the Rebels will host Georgia, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. Ole Miss will trip to Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

Team 50 last season made its 12th all-time Sweet 16 appearance and finished with 22-11 overall record.

“Just thankful for this program, this opportunity [and] coach Yo for just believing in me and everybody that she put around us as a team,” departed Ole Miss guard KK Deans said. “As a program, we’re on an upward trajectory. This is the second time in three years they made it to the Sweet 16, so I expect nothing less. I expect Sweet 16 to be the goal, and I know she’s not going to stop until she gets to the top.

“They’re surrounded by a great woman, a great coach and a great coaching staff that’s going to push them every day to get to that goal.”

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